Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling

ACT I - Why we tell stories.

"Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact." — Robert McKee

ACT II - Why make them digital.

Variations of Design

The Flood of '87 Essay

The Flood of '87 Slideshow

The Flood of '87 Video

ACT III - Quality Control.

"No amount of technology can ever turn a bad story into a good one."- Pixar

Ira Glass on Storytelling section of Part 2 (2 minutes)

"Failure is a big part of success."

"If you're not failing all the time, you're not creating a situation to get really lucky."

"You have to go into it knowing that you have to get rid of a lot of crap to get to something special."

A series of interviews with Ira Glass, host of the weekly radio show, This American Life.

• • • Ira Glass on Storytelling # 1

    • Ira Glass on Storytelling # 2

    • Ira Glass on Storytelling # 3

    • Ira Glass on Storytelling # 4

Beware The Animoto Effect.

http://animoto.com/play/Q3R2OmJoqjRnqLt19G8Vlw

ACT IV - Step by Step.

The Script - This is the most important and (usually) the hardest, but, this is the most crucial aspect of the whole project. Dialogue and actions should be scripted out and rehearsed beforehand. Once you have a rough idea of what you want you need to go through the specifics. Camera angles, props, character placing, special effects.

(Storyboard Template in Google Doc)

(Storyboard Template Excel Spreadsheet)

Live Video vs. Edited Production - Both have their pros and cons, live events are available for viewing sooner, while an fully edited video can take a long time. When determining editing time, a general rule of thumb is 10 to 1, meaning one hour of video would take ten hours to edit and finalize. But, with live video any mistake is immediately seen. With the edited, you can re-shoot a scene as many times as you need.

The ABC's of Videography

A - Audio, (most important because you can use B-Roll over it.) The audio usually makes or breaks a video. Be certain to test it before shooting and shield the camera from wind. Use appropriate microphone: boom, shotgun, lapel, etc.

B - Balance (Rule of Thirds, alternate angles, wide, medium, close ups, etc) Be aware of area on screen over the subjects head. ALWAYS USE A TRIPOD! (unless you have a specific reason not to use one.)

This is a good example of Rule of thirds, all elements are off centered.

C - Camera (check audio ahead of time, check that it's the correct tape, a charged battery and make sure the tape is cued to the correct position.)

Post-Production - After you've finished recorded your video, you'll want to edit it. This includes fixing possible audio or video problems. Depending on your individual skill level, there are many programs that will allow you to edit video. Such as iMovie on a Mac and Movie Maker on the PC.

Presentation - The assumption is that your video will be published on the web. YouTube is an amazing and massive video source, but often blocked but schools. Alternatives are TeacherTube, SchoolTube, or Vimeo. They each have advantages and drawbacks. Though YouTube is the most pervasive outside of school, it only takes videos under 10 minutes and is blocked in most schools by a firewall or filter, Vimeo has better quality than YouTube, but is less widely known, and may have a smaller audience.

NOTE: When you post it on the Internet, you will probably receive feedback, usually in the form of comments. But, this kind of feedback is not always very helpful, it is impersonal. For more constructive feedback show the video to peers.